In high school I had several slide rules, and could use them, but I never heard of the Curta until about 2 years ago. A marvelous toy! Wish I had one. Maybe it’s on to ebay next to see whether there are any there…..

Oh, the Babbage Laptop reference? That’s the is what a Curta basically is, a Babbage Difference Engine in miniature, hand held size instead of desk size.